RowAmerica LLC. was founded by entrepreneur Howard Winklevoss in 2003. After outfitting a club of his own, Saugatuck Rowing Club, with boats supplied by a local manufacturer, he quickly realized that he wasn’t getting the service he thought he should receive for a large competitive program and was overpaying for equipment, even for an elite level club.

While attending a regatta Howard came across a vendor displaying boats that were made in China. He asked about the boats and, after a convincing conversation regarding the quality, was on a plane to China the very next week. After establishing a relationship with Flying Eagle Boat Company, located in Fu Yang City, just outside of Hangzhou, China, the RowAmerica idea began to blossom. Howard ordered one hundred and fifty boats, had a headquarters developed in Norwalk, CT. and put a full-time staff of service representatives in place before the first boats arrived in the USA. The boat brand WinTech Racing was developed during that five month layover as well.

During WinTech’s first nine years, accommodations for repairs were made out of an 8,000 sq. ft. facility in Norwalk, CT. — just enough space to handle Saugatuck Rowing Club’s annual fleet refurbishing and WinTech’s growing customer base. In 2012, a decision was made to expand the operation to include enough space to accommodate WinTech’s rapid distribution growth and a separate, full service repair facility that would cater not only to WinTech Racing, but to all brands of boats. RowAmerica’s sights were now set on a state-of-the-art 50,000 sqft facility in Bridgeport, CT.

RowAmerica’s mission has only just begun. The new Bridgeport, CT. headquarters includes offices and ample warehouse space for the distribution of both WinTech and King Racing shells, RowAmerica Boat Repair and RowAmerica Boat Clubs, a new company dedicated to expanding our sport through the development of rowing clubs around the USA where they wouldn’t have been realized otherwise.
RowAmerica’s mission is to expand awareness of rowing by allowing clubs to outfit their programs with high quality equipment at affordable prices, provide gold standard service for all brands of rowing equipment, while offering professional consultation needed to sustain winning club based programming.

RowAmerica currently employs a staff of thirty employees and is located in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Stop in for a visit at your convenience.